BAR: Making a Reds minor-league All-Star team

Pensacola's Gavin LaValley (20) makes his way safely to third base from first on an RBI double hit by Josh VanMeter against the Montgomery Biscuits at Admiral Fetterman Field on Friday, June 30, 2017.(Photo: Jody Link/online@PNJ.com)

The Blog Above Replacement a daily look at the Reds, their minor leagues and whatever else is on the mind of Enquirer Reds beat writers, C. Trent Rosecrans and Zach Buchanan. You can follow them on Twitter (@ctrent and @ZachENQ), Facebook (C. Trent Rosecrans and Zach Buchanan) and Instagram (ENQReds).

Baseball America recently announced its minor-league All-Star teams featuring two Reds on the first team (3B Nick Senzel and Tyler Mahle) and one on the second team (reliever Jimmy Herget). Then it released its teams for each level, so I decided to do a Reds minor-league All-Star team for 2017.

C — Tyler Stephenson, .278/.374/.414, 6 HR, 50 RBI

Stephenson, a former first-round pick, had another season derailed by injury (thumb) but had a nice bounce-back season in Dayton before the injury.

1B — Gavin LaValley, .269/.318/.443 18 HR, 79 RBI

LaValley lead the Florida State League with 15 homers when he was called up to Double-A Pensacola, not including a pair in the league’s All-Star Game. He had three homers for the Blue Wahoos.

2B — Alex Blandino, .265/.382/.453, 12 HR, 51 RBI

Blandino and Shed Long both had a .835 OPS, but Blandino excelled at Triple-A, while Long struggled at Double-A. After his promotion to Louisville, Blandino hit .270/.390/.444. It gives the Reds depth at the position to go along with Scooter Gennett, Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera.

3B — Nick Senzel, .321/.391/.514, 14 HR, 65 RBI

The team’s top prospect did nothing but impress in his first full season, putting up better numbers in Double-A than in high-A. A case of vertigo cut his season short.

SS — Zach Vincej, .270/.325/.370 3 HR, 38 RBI

Known more for his glove, Vincej had a solid season at the plate and earned a call-up to the big leagues in September.

LF — Taylor Trammell, .281/.368/.450, 13 HR, 77 RBI, 41 SB

Trammell had a better season than maybe anyone could have expected from the 35th overall pick in the 2015 draft in his first full season in pro ball.

CF — Jose Siri, .293/.341/.530, 24 HR, 76 RBI, 46 SB

Siri’s season was highlighted by a 39-game hitting streak, but in addition to the stat line, he also played a legitimate center field. Always one of the team’s most talented players, he’s starting to put it all together.

RF — Jesse Winker, .314/.395/.408, 2 HR, 41 RBI

Winker lived up to his reputation as a professional hitter, hitting for average and putting up a near-.400 OBP before being promoted to the big leagues. Although he hit just two home runs in 347 plate appearances for Louisville, he’s hit four in the big leagues in 87 plate appearances.

SP — Tyler Mahle, 10-7, 2.06 ERA, 144 1/3 IP, 138 SO, 30 BB

In addition to his perfect game for Double-A Pensacola and earned a call-up to the big leagues in August. For the Reds, he’s gone 0-2 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts so far.

RP — Jimmy Herget, 4-4, 2.90 ERA, 25 saves, 62 IP, 72 SO, 21 BB

The side-arming closer was selected for the Futures Game in Miami and put up 16 saves in Double-A and nine more in Triple-A.

ICYMI

#HeyBartender

Friday is mailbag day, and I’ll be handling it this week. Feel free to email me, Tweet at me with #HeyBARtender or message on Facebook your questions, Reds or otherwise.

Minor League Roundup

Low-A: Fort Wayne 3, Dayton 0: The Dragons’ season ended with a loss to Fort Wayne. RHP Andrew Jordan gave up one run in the first and two in the second before exiting, while the offense managed just three hits, one each from CF Jose Siri, 1B Bruce Yari and C Cassidy Brown. [Box]

The Rotation

1. I’m always glad to hear that former baseball writers can get other jobs — too bad the ones being hired by baseball teams are much smarter than I am. [CBSSports.com]